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NUMISMATIC 


HAMPSHIRE 

INTER- 


LIBRARY 
CENTE%^0^ 


AND  MONOGR' 

No.  13 


Jf  ^ 


«.  ■ ,• 


THE  PRE-MOHAMMEDAN  COINAGE 
OF  NORTHWESTERN  INDIA 

By  R.  B.  whitehead 


THE  AMERICAN  NUMISMATIC  SOCIETY 
BROADWAY  AT  156tH  STREET 
NEW  YORK 

1922 


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NUMISMATIC 

NOTES  AND  MONOGRAPHS 


editor:  SYDNEY  P.  NOE 


Numismatic  Notes  and  Monographs 
is  devoted  to  essays  and  treatises  on  sub- 
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i THE  PRE-MOHAMMEDAN  COINAGE 

^ OF  NORTHWESTERN  INDIA 


THE  AMERICAN  NUMISMATIC  SOCIETY 
BROADWAY  AT  156th  STREET 
NEW  YORK 
1922 


COPYRIGHT  1922  BY 

THE  AMERICAN  NUMISMATIC  SOCIETY 


Press  of  Patterson  & White  Co.,  Philadelphia 


GETTY  CENTBJ 
LIBRARY 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT  is  due  to  Mr. 
G.  F.  Hill  of  the  British  Museum  and  to 
Mr.  Edward  T.  Newell  for  casts  of  certain 
of  the  coins  illustrated;  also,  to  Mr.  How- 
land Wood  for  the  arrangement  of  the 
plates,  for  preparing  the  specifications  of 
the  map,  and  for  helpful  suggestions. 

R.  B.  WHITEHEAD 

Bootle 

Cumberland 


i 


Mount 


PRE-MOHAMMEDAN  COINAGE  OE 
NORTHWESTERN  INDIA 

BY  R.  B.  WHITEHEAD 

It  has  been  laid  down  as  a general  rule 
that  coins  cannot  be  considered  of  pri- 
mary importance  as  historical  evidence. 
Their  chief  uses  are  to  check  the  state- 
ments of  contemporary  writers  and  to  fill 
in  details;  they  rarely  make  history.  In 
the  early  periods  of  a nation’s  history, 
when  evidence  from  coins  is  of  the 
greatest  value,  it . is  generally  meagre. 
In  later  periods  when  inscriptions  on 
coins  are  fuller  and  more  illuminating, 
we  have  a variety  of  other  sources,  so 
that  the  evidence  of  coins  naturally  occu- 
pies a subordinate  position.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  as- 


itoi 


yoke 


NUMISMATIC  NOTES 


2 

P R E - M 0 H A M M E D A N 

sertions  of  coins,  because  money  always 
mirrors  current  events.  Even  when  the 
reflections  are  distorted,’  their  very  un- 
truthfulness not  infrequently  affords 
valuable  information. 

Apart  from  actual  statements,  coins 
supply  historical  material  in  a variety  of 
indirect  ways.  Eor  instance,  since  gold 
coins  of  the  Greeks  and  Scythians  in 
India  are  practically  unknown,  while  the 
gold  currency  of  the  Kushans  is  exten- 
sive, we  are  free  to  conclude  that  gold  for 
some  reason  had  become  abundant  after 
the  downfall  of  the  Greek  power 

Coins  have  indirectly  proved  of  the 
highest  value  to  the  archaeologist,  for  the 
finding  of  coins  along  with  statues  and 
inscriptions,  where  the  latter  are  undated, 
gives  a clue  to  the  period  at  which  they 
were  produced.  Such  finds  have  shown 
that  Graeco-Buddhist  statues  of  the  best 
period  of  the  Gandhara  school  which 
is  splendidly  exemplified  in  the  Punjab 
Museum,  Lahore,  were  contemporary 
with  the  Kushan  king,  Kanishka.  Again, 
coins  present  us  with  a continuous  series 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

3 

of  documents  illustrating  the  development 
of  the  artistic  designs  which  embellish 
them,  and  of  the  scripts  in  which  the 
superscriptions  are  written.  For  these 
reasons  they  are  of  material  interest  to 
the  artist  and  to  the  epigraphist.  In  ad- 
dition to  facts,  coins  are  fruitful  of  sur- 
mise. The  perils  of  such  surmising  are 
perhaps  illustrated  in  the  attempts  made 
to  unravel  the  mutual  relationships  of  the 
various  members  of  the  Indo-Bactrian, 
Scythian  and  Parthian  dynasties.  Still, 
such  deductions,  if  free  from  fancy,  can- 
not be  far  away  from  the  truth  and  in 
certain  periods  of  early  Indian  history  we 
have  to  be  content  with  conjecture.  So 
much  for  a general  consideration  of  the 
Muse  of  history  and  her  numismatic 
handmaid. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  Indian  history  and 
numismatics.  My  present  paper  deals 
with  the  monetary  issues  of  the  early 
foreign  invaders — Greeks,  Scythians, 
Parthians,  Kushans  and  Ephthalites — 
and  with  the  indigenous  pieces  from  the 
earliest  times  down  to  the  Mohammedan 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

4 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

invasion  which  are  found  in  Northwest 
India — especially  the  Punjab,  in  which 
province  I have  served  for  seventeen 
years  as  a member  of  the  Indian  Civil 
Service.  I propose  to  contribute  a sec- 
ond paper  which  will  deal  with  the  coins 
of  the  Punjab  from  the  Mohammedan 
conquest  down  to  the  present  day. 

The  term  ‘Tndo-Greek”  is  adopted  as 
a general  appellation  for  the  monetary 
issues  of  the  Greek  invaders  of  India  and 
their  immediate  successors  with  whom 
Greek  culture,  as  revealed  by  their  coins, 
was  still  a living  force.  Eor  convenience 
I also  include  the  issues  of  the  Bactrian 
Greeks  just  prior  to  the  invasion  of 
India.  I propose  to  distinguish  the 
Greek  invaders  of  India  by  the  name 
“Indo-Bactrian.’’  Then  come  the  issues  of 
what  are  conventionally  termed  the  Indo- 
Scythians,  Indo-Parthians  and  Great 
Kushans  down  to  and  including  the  better 
executed  coins  of  Vasu  Deva.  The  Bac- 
trians  and  Indo-Bactrians  overlap  as 
some  of  the  Greek  kings  struck  money  of 
both  types. 

NUMISMATIC-  NOTES 

_ 1 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

5 

In  his  preface  to  the  British  Museum 
Catalogue  of  the  Coins  of  the  Greek  and 
Scythic  Kings  of  Bactria  and  India,  Mr. 
Stuart  Poole  remarked  that  few  fields 
of  numismatics  offer  richer  material,  his- 
torical, archaeological  and  even  philo- 
logical. To  a very  large  extent  these 
contemporary  documents  in  metal  are  the 
only  testimonies  to  a period  which  would 
otherwise  have  disappeared  from  history. 
There  are  a few  meagre  notices  by  his- 
torians of  the  Bactrian  kings  Diodotos, 
Euthydemos,  Demetrios  and  Eukratides. 
We  are  also  informed  that  Heliokies  was 
the  last  king  of  Bactria.  He  was  over- 
thrown by  an  irruption  of  savage  tribes 
from  the  steppes  of  Central  Asia,  and  the 
Greeks  who  had  crossed  to  the  Indian 
side  of  the  Hindu-Kush  were  completely 
cut  off  from  European  civilization.  The 
names  of  Menander  and  Apollodotos  are 
just  mentioned  by  classical  annalists,  but 
those  of  the  numerous  other  Indo-Bac- 
trian  princes  are  only  found  on  their 
coins,  and  till  fourteen  years  ago  no  other 
evidence  of  their  existence  was  known. 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

6 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

But  we  now  have  the  Brahmi  inscription 
at  Besnagar  in  the  Gwalior  State,  which 
relates  that  the  pillar  on  which  it  is  in- 
scribed was  erected  by  Heliodoros,  son 
of  Dion,  a subject  of  the  great  king 
Antialkidas  of  Taxila.  This  is  one  of 
the  many  remarkable  discoveries  made  in 
recent  years  by  the  Archaeological  De- 
partment of  India. 

The  historical  importance  of  the  coins 
now  being  discussed  is  not  confined  to 
the  issues  of  the  Greek  princes.  Our 
knowledge  of  the  so-called  Indo-Scythi- 
ans,  Indo-Parthians  and  Great  Kushans 
is  almost  entirely  derived  from  the  study 
of  the  coins.  The  Indo-Parthian  pieces 
give  us  the  name  of  Gondophares,  known 
to  Christian  tradition  as  the  Indian  ruler 
under  whom  the  Apostle  Saint  Thomas 
suffered  martyrdom.  One  of  the  Kushan 
rulers  is  Kanishka,  the  famous  convener 
of  the  fourth  great  Buddhist  Council,  the 
body  whose  deliberations  gave  consis- 
tency and  official  sanction  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Northern  Buddhism.  As  regards 
the  philological  importance  of  the  Indo- 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

7 

Bactrian  coins,  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  they  provided  the  key  to  the 
Kharoshthi  or  Bactrian  Pali  script.  Un- 
til their  discovery  the  edicts  engraved 
in  this  script  on  the  pillars  and  rocks 
by  the  Mauryan  king  Asoka  could  not  be 
deciphered  because  they  were  written  in 
unknown  characters.  The  Indo-Bactrian 
pieces  are  bilingual  and  were  the  “Ro- 
setta stone”  by  means  of  which  the 
Asoka  edicts  were  unravelled.  Many 
documents  written  in  the  Kharoshthi 
character  have  been  recently  discovered 
by  Sir  Aurel  Stein  in  Chinese  Turkestan. 
A further  interest  lies  in  the  shape  of 
these  coins,  many  of  them  being  square 
or  oblong,  and  in  the  characteristic  de- 
j signs  of  gods  and  animals  as  conceived 
by  the  oriental  Greek  artist. 

A rapid  sketch  of  the  numismatic  his- 
tory of  the  various  dynasties  is  now  in 
order.  In  the  summer  of  B.  C.  334, 
Alexander  the  Great  crossed  the  Helles- 
pont at  the  head  of  thirty  thousand  in- 
fantry and  four  thousand  five  hundred 
'cavalry.  He  forced  the  passage  of  the 

1 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

8 


PRE-MOHAMMEDA 


N 


Persian  frontier  and  afterwards  de- 
feated the  Persian  monarch  Darius  in 
two  decisive  battles  at  Issus  and  Arbela. 
The  death  of  Darius  in  B.  C.  330  was  fol- 
lowed by  a revolt  of  the  Persian  govern- 
ors of  what  is  now  Western  Afghanistan, 
and  the  rebellion  of  these  ^eastern 
satraps  showed  Alexander  that  resist- 
ance had  not  died  with  the  decease  of 
the  monarch.  His  first  plans  were  proba- 
bly confined  to  the  humiliation  of  Persia, 
but  they  seem  gradually  to  have  been  en- 
larged with  success  until  they  embraced 
the  complete  subjugation  of  the  Persian 
empire  and  the  conquest  of  India  even 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges. 

Alexander’s  comprehensive  mind  con- 
templated much  more  than  a predatory 
excursion  resulting  only  in  plunder. 
When  he  determined  on  the  conquest 
of  Bactria  and  India,  he  had  also  formed 
plans  for  their  permanent  occupation  and 
future  government.  This  he  purposed 
to  effect  by  securing  the  goodwill  of  his 
subjects.  By  the  year  328  he  had  crushed 
the  rebellious  Persian  satraps  and  had 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

9 

carried  his  arms  over  the  River  Oxus 
into  Bactria,  Early  in  the  following 
spring,  Alexander  crossed  the  Indian 
Caucasus  (Hindu  Kush).  He  spent  the 
remainder  of  the  year  327  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  various  cities  and  strongholds 
of  the  Kabul  valley,  ending  with  the  cap- 
ture of  the  fanious  rock-fort  of  Aornos. 
In  the  spring  of  B.  C.  326  he  crossed  the 
River  Indus  at  Ohind  and  marched  to 
Taxila  (now  known  as  Shahdheri),  twen- 
ty miles  northwest  of  Rawalpini,  where 
he  was  hospitably  received  by  the  In- 
dian king  whose  capital  it  was.  From 
Taxila  Alexander  advanced  to  the  River 
Hydaspes  (Jhelum)  where  he  was  so 
stoutly  opposed  by  the  Indian  monarch 
Porus  that  he  could  only  pass  the  river 
by  a stratagem.  Then  followed  a great 
battle  between  the  Greeks  and  Indians, 
the  submission  of  Porus  and  the  founda- 
tion of  the  cities  of  Nikaia  and  Buke- 
phala.  Next  came  the  capture  of  the 
hill-fortress  of  Sangala  and  the  advance 
to  the  River  Hyphasis  (Beas)  beyond 
which  the  Greek  army,  dispirited  by 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

10 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

long  marches  and  the  warlike  character 
of  the  people,  refused  to  proceed. 

There,  says  Gibbon,  on  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Hyphasis,  on  the  verge  of  the 
desert,  the  Macedonian  hero  halted  and 
wept.  He  erected  twelve  huge  altars 
dedicated  to  the  principal  deities  of 
Greece  and  then  retraced  his  steps  to  the 
banks  of  the  Hydaspes,  where  he  pre- 
pared a fleet  to  convey  his  army  to  the 
sea.  After  various  adventures  he  reached 
the  Indian  Ocean  about  the  middle 
of  B.  C.  325.  The  Greek  fleet  coasted 
round  to  the  Persian  Gulf  while  Alex- 
ander himself  made  a long  and  harassing 
march  through  the  desert  hinterland  of 
the  Arabian  Sea  to  Persepolis  and  Baby- 
lon. He  died  at  Babylon  shortly  after 
his  arrival  in  B.  C.  323. 

The  chief  provinces  of  Alexander’s 
empire  were  apportioned  to  his  leading 
officers.  The  eastern  provinces  were 
Bactriana,  Ariana,  and  India,  or  the 
countries  watered  by  the  Rivers  Oxus, 
Helmund  and  Indus,  respectively.  India 
comprised  the  three  satrapies  of  the 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

II 

Parapamisadse  (Kabul  Valley),  the  Pun- 
jab and  Sind.  Out  of  the  confusion  which 
followed  Alexander’s  death,  Seleukos, 
satrap  of  Babylon,  emerged  as  the  pre- 
dominant ruler  of  Bactriana  and  Ariana, 
but  was  not  successful  in  his  expe- 
dition against  Chandragupta  Maurya, 
king  of  India,  known  to  the  Greeks  as 
Sandrokottos.  By  the  resulting  treaty, 
about  305  B.  C.,  the  Kabul  Valley,  the 
Punjab  and  Sind  were  added  to  the  do- 
minions of  Chandragupta,  and  Bactri- 
ana became  the  most  easterly  province 
of  the  kingdom  of  Seleukos.  The  pact 
thus  made  between  the  Indians  and  the 
Greeks  was  cemented  by  the  residence 
of  Megasthenes,  ambassador  of  Seleukos 
at  the  Indian  Court.  To  Megasthenes 
and  his  successor  the  ancient  Greeks  and 
Romans  were  indebted  for  nearly  all  their 
knowledge  of  the  Indian  territory. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  Alexander’s 
settlements  in  India,  whatever  they  may 
have  been,  had  disappeared  within  twenty 
years  of  his  death  and  we  have  no  reason 
to  believe  that  his  rapid  march  through 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

12 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

the  Punjab  left  anything  permanent  be- 
hind it.  No  trace  of  his  twelve  altars 
has  ever  been  discovered,  which  is  not 
surprising  considering  the  great  changes 
which  have  taken  place  in  the  courses  of 
the  Punjab  rivers  during  the  last  two 
thousand  years.  It  is  extremely  doubtful 
that  Alexander  struck  coins  in  India. 
However,  a second  Greek  invasion  of  the 
Kabul  Valley  and  India  was  to  take  place 
with  more  durable  consequences. 

Seleukos  was  assassinated  in  B.  C.  280 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Antiochos 
Soter.  Antiochos  II,  surnamed  Theos, 
followed  his  father  Antiochos  Soter  in 
B.  C.  261  and  commenced  hostilities 
against  Egypt.  The  eastern  provinces  of 
the  Syrian  empire,  Bactria  and  Parthia, 
seized  this  opportunity  to  cast  off  a yoke 
which  had  become  little  more  than  nomi- 
nal. The  details  of  this  revolt  are  ob- 
scure, but  it  resulted  in  the  establishment 
of  a remarkable  offshoot  of  Hellenic 
colonial  enterprise  in  the  heart  of  Asia. 
Bactria  had  greatly  increased  in  strength 
as  the  result  of  fifty  years  of  almost  con- 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

13 

tinuous  peace,  and  its  governor  Diodotos 
assumed  independent  power.  At  about 
the  same  time  a Parthian  named  Arsakes 
succeeded  in  setting  up  a separate  State 
and  launched  Parthia  on  its  great  career 
as  the  rival  not  only  of  Bactria  and 
Syria  but  ultimately  of  Rome.  These 
important  events  are  assigned  to  the 
year  250  B.  C.  Diodotos  struck  coins  in 
his  own  name,  with  a design  of  the  thun- 
dering Zeus,  and  assumed  the  title 
Soter,  meaning  saviour  or  protector. 
This  title,  if  it  had  any  special  signifi- 
cance, may  have  referred  to  the  part 
played  by  Bactria  in  protecting  the 
eastern  flank  of  the  Hellenic  world  from 
the  barbarians  of  Central  Asia.  He  was 
probably  succeeded  by  his  son  of  the  same 
name,  and  this  second  Diodotos  fell  a 
victim  to  the  conspiracy  headed  by  one 
Euthydemos,  who  appears  to  have  taken 
effectual  means  to  prevent  any  of  the  rival 
family  from  disputing  his  retention  of 
power.  Under  Euthydemos,  Bactria  at- 
tained the  summit  of  its  prosperity. 
About  209  B.  C.  he  successfully  resisted  a 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

14 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

formidable  invasion  by  Bactria’s  former 
suzerain,  Antiochos  III,  the  king  of  Syria. 
Subsequently  he  carried  the  Bactrian 
arms  over  the  Hindu  Kush  into  the  Kabul 
Valley.  Doubtless  his  son  Demetrios 
took  a prominent  part  in  these  military 
operations.  The  demeanor  of  Demetrios 
as  a youth  had  won  the  regard  of  Anti- 
ochos; his  exploits  as  a mian  pushed  the 
Greek  dominion  in  the  East  well  over 
the  Indian  border.  The  story  of  De- 

metrios must  have  been  preserved  down 
to  a very  late  period,  as  Chaucer  refers  to 
the  “grete  Emetreus,  king  of  Inde,”  in 
the  Knight’s  Tale. 

Euthydemos  figures  on  several  fine 
coins  as  a man  in  the  prime  of  life  with 
a stern  and  heavy  face.  The  seated 
Herakles  is  the  usual  design  on  the  re- 
verse of  the  gold  and  silver  coins,  while 
a prancing  horse  figures  on  the  copper 
pieces — possibly  a reference  to  Balkh, 
the  capital  of  Bactria,  the  city  of  the 
horse. 

Demetrios  must  have  acceded  to  the 
throne  about  190  B.  C.  There  is  reason 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

15 

to  believe  that  he  extended  the  Greek 
conquests  to  the  Delta  of  the  Indus,  but 
his  coins  are  seldom  if  ever  found  east  of 
the  Indus.  The  best  known  issue  of 
Demetrios  is  the  series  which  represents 
the  king  wearing  an  elephant’s  scalp 
head-dress;  these  coins  are  purely  Attic 
in  design  ana  weight.  Demetrios,  like 
Euthydenios,  seems  to  have  adopted 
Herakles  as  his  patron  deity.  Herakles, 
the  Hercules  of  the  Romans,  was  the 
most  celebrated  of  the  heroes  of  classi- 
cal antiquity.  He  was  the  apotheosis  of 
rude  strength  and  valor.  His  weapons 
were  the  club  and  the  bow  and  arrow;  his 
most  frequent  attributes  are  the  club  and 
lion-skin.  He  was  a great  traveller 
and  is  said  to  have  reached  India,  an 
exploit  which  is  also  attributed  to 
Dionysos,  the  god  of  vegetation  and  the 
giver  of  wine  and  alcoholic  pleasures. 
In  new  lands  reached  by  the  Greeks, 
some  local  hero  or  divinity  who  repre- 
sented strength  of  body  and  mighty  deeds 
would  be  identified  with  Herakles,  hence 
his  prominence  on  Indo-Greek  coins. 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

i6 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

Three  obscure  princes  who  were  ap- 
proximately contemporary  with,  and 
possibly  subordinate  to  Diodotos  and 
Euthydemos,  were  Antimachos  Theos, 
Pantaleon  and  Agathokles.  Agathokles 
struck  a very  interesting  and  excessively 
rare  series  of  silver  medallions,  which 
bear  his  name  on  the  reverse  side,  but  on 
the  obverse  give  the  portraits  and  names 
of  Alexander,  Diodotos,  Euthydemos  and 
Antiochos  Nikator.  It  is  clear  that  he  is 
claiming  relationship  with  them  or 
acknowledging  their  suzerainty,  but  his- 
tory affords  us  not  a single  hint  on  which 
we  might  base  an  account  of  what  must 
have  been  a chequered  career.  These 
coins  present  three  conceptions  of  Zeus, 
first,  the  god  enthroned  bearing  an  eagle 
on  his  outstretched  right  hand;  then  as 
an  avenging  deity  shielded  by  the  aegis 
and  brandishing  a thunderbolt;  and 
thirdly,  in  an  erect  position  carrying  the 
three-headed  Hecate  on  his  right  hand. 

Zeus,  the  greatest  of  the  Greek  deities, 
the  father  and  king  of  gods  and  of  men, 
was  primarily  the  god  of  the  sky  and  is 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

^7 

represented  in  Art  as  the  ideal  of  ripe 
manhood,  a mature  figure  with  wavy  hair 
and  shaggy  beard.  The  attributes  of 
Zeus  are  the  sceptre,  eagle,  thunderbolt, 
and  sometimes  the  figure  of  Nike  on  his 
outstretched  hand.  Kings  and  queens 
as  depicted  on  the  coins  always  wear  the 
royal  diadem.  This  was  originally  the 
blue  and  white  band  tied  round  the  tiara 
of  the  Persian  monarchs  and  was  the  old 
Asiatic  symbol  of  royalty.  It  later  took 
the  form  of  a white  silk  ribbon  some- 
times embroidered  with  pearls. 

It  was  probably  while  Demetrios  was 
fighting  on  the  Indian  side  of  the  Hindu 
Kush  that  his  authority  in  Bactria  was 
undermined  by  a rival  named  Eukratides 
who  appears  to  have  been  some  connec- 
tion of  the  royal  house  of  Seleukos  and 
who  eventually  was  able  to  usurp  the 
regal  authority  in  Bactria.  This  hap- 
pened about  the  year  175  B.  C.  In  the 
end  Eukratides  emerged  triumphant 
from  the  struggle  with  Demetrios,  who 
is  held  to  have  perished  or  to  have  been 
deposed  about  160  B.  C. 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

i8 

P R E - M 0 H A M M E D A N 

The  extension  of  the  Greek  dominion 
to  the  south  of  the  Hindu  Kush  is  re- 
flected in  the  coinage  of  Demetrios,  who 
is  the  first  of  the  Bactrian  Greeks  to 
strike  money  on  the  Indian  weight- 
standard  with  an  inscription  in  the  In- 
dian vernacular  (now  called  Kharoshthi), 
in  addition  to  the  Greek  legend ; the 
one  legend  being  a literal  translation  of 
the  other.  There  are  one  or  two  very 
scarce  bilingual  copper  coins  of  Deme- 
trios of  the  characteristic  Indian  square 
shape,  and  I possess  an  Indian  tetra- 
drachm  not  yet  published. 

The  money  of  Eukratides  has  been 
found  abundantly,  both  the  pure  Greek 
kind  current  in  Bactria  proper  and  the 
Indian  bilingual  class  struck  for  use  on 
the  Indian  side  of  the  Hindu  Kush.  The 
earliest  issues  of  Eukratides  bear  the 
image  of  Apollo.  Apollo  was  one  of  the 
chief  divinities  of  Greece,  the  god  of 
sunshine  and  light,  lord  of  oracles  and 
prophecy,  of  music  and  poetry,  and  the 
ideal  of  manly  youth  and  beauty,  hlis 
attributes  were  the  bow  and  arrow  and 

1 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

19 

the  tripod-lebes,  a three-footed  stool 
bearing  the  lebes  or  cauldron  for  burn- 
ing incense.  The  most  characteristic  is- 
sues of  Eukratides  are  the  splendid 
tetradrachms  with  the  triumphant  design 
of  the  mounted  Dioskouroi,  the  great  twin 
brethren,  sons  of  Zeus.  Their  principal 
function  was  that  of  divine  protectors 
and  aiders  of  mankind,  more  especially 
travellers  by  sea,  and  their  stars  appeared 
above  the  ship  of  the  voyager  as  a sure 
sign  of  help.  They  are  shown  on  coins 
either  mounted  or  on  foot,  and  carry 
palms  of  victory  and  lances.  Their  dis- 
tinctive dress  was  the  chlamys  and  the 
pilos.  The  chlamys  originated  as  a rider’s 
cloak  worn  over  armour,  a short  light 
mantle  clasping  at  the  neck.  The  pilos 
was  a conical  cap  of  felt  or  leather  worn 
by  artisans  and  fisher  folk.  Some  seventy 
years  ago  a sensation  was  caused  in  the 
numismatic  world  by  the  discovery  of  a 
gold  twenty-stater  piece  of  this  type. 
That  miagnificent  coin  was  purchased  for 
the  French  National  Collection  and  may 
be  seen  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale. 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

20 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

It  is  the  largest  surviving  gold  coin  of 
ancient  times,  is  still  unique  and  is  a 
fitting  token  of  Bactrian  wealth  and 
power. 

The  Roman  historian  Justin  tells  us 
that  Eukratides  while  returning  from 
India  was  murdered  by  his  own  son.  The 
name  of  the  parricide  is  not  recorded. 
This  event  is  assigned  to  the  year  150 
B.  C.  Some  authorities  have  identified 
the  murderer  with  Heliokles,  some  with 
Apollodotos.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  re- 
moval of  the  strong  hand  was  followed 
by  the  rise  of  a number  of  princelings 
probably  belonging  to  the  rival  houses  of 
Eukratides  and  Euthydemos,  who  con- 
stantly fought  amongst  themselves  and 
whose  civil  wars  hastened  the  dissolution 
of  the  Bactrian  monarchy.  Heliokles 
and  Antialkidas  are  the  last  kings  to 
strike  money  of  the  Attic  standard  and 
design.  It  is  therefore  safe  to  assume 
that  with  them  passed  away  the  Greek 
authority  over  Bactria,  and  that  after 
their  time  the  Greek  power  was  limited 
to  the  Kabul  Valley  and  the  Northwest 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

21 

Punjab.  Bactria  was  overrun  by  an 
irruption  of  nomadic  tribes  who  are 
known  as  Saka  Scythians,  and  the  Greeks 
south  of  the  Hindu  Kush  were  completely 
cut  off  and  are  heard  of  no  more.  Posi- 
tively all  that  history  has  to  tell  us  of 
the  Indo-Bactrians  consists  of  two  casual 
references  to  Apollodotos  and  Menander. 
I have  already  stated  that  the  Besnagar 
pillar  inscription,  discovered  in  1907,  is 
the  only  known  inscription  containing  a 
reference  to  any  Bactrian  or  Indo-Bac- 
trian  king.  Excavations  at  Balkh  would 
probably  give  invaluable  results,  but  at 
the  present  time  Balkh  is  inaccessible  for 
the  European  investigator.  We  have 
reason  to  believe  that  the  Sakas  were  an 
involuntary  vanguard  thrust  over  the 
Bactrian  frontier  by  the  pressure  of  other 
obscure  hordes  on  the  Mongolian  plains 
who  were  destined  to  overwhelm  and  re- 
place both  Greeks  and  Sakas  in  Afghan- 
istan and  Northwestern  India.  I shall 
briefly  allude  to  these  developments  after 
tarrying  a few  mpments  with  the  declin- 
ing fortunes  of  the  Greeks. 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

22 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

The  death  of  Eukratides  was  speedily 
followed  by  the  extinction  of  the  Greek 
power  in  Bactria,  Heliokies  being  held 
to  be  the  last  Greek  king  of  Bactria  and 
India.  The  coins,  however,  show  that 
a king  named  Antialkidas,  who  was 
probably  later  than  Heliokles,  struck 
money  of  both  Bactrian  and  Indo-Bac- 
trian  types.  After  the  time  of  Heliokles 
and  Antialkidas,  Greek  rule  was  confined 
to  the  Indian  side  of  the  Hindu  Kush, 
and  the  Greek  dominions  appear  to  have 
split  up  into  a number  of  petty  states 
which  were  generally  in  a chronic  state 
of  war  amongst  themselves.  Sir  Alex- 
ander Cunningham  held  that  only  thirty 
years  elapsed  between  the  death  of 
Heliokles  and  the  end  of  the  Greek  rule 
in  India  under  the  last  Greek  king,  Her- 
maios.  Mr.  Vincent  Smith  says  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  years.  The  latest  and 
best  informed  opinion,  that  of  Professor 
E.  J.  Rapson,  places  the  death  of 
Eukratides  about  150  B.  C.  and  the  down- 
fall of  Hermaios  about  20  A.  D. 

W e have  to  fit  into  this  period  the 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

23 

reigns  of  some  twenty-five  Greek  princes 
whose  names,  with  the  exception  of 
Apollodotos  and  Menander,  are  known 
from  their  coins  only,  which,  of  course, 
are  all  of  the  bilingual  Indo-Bactrian 
types  and  weights.  The  slight  progres- 
sive degradation  of  design  and  workman- 
ship combined  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
find-spots  and  such  minor  details  as  the 
comparative  abundance  or  scarcity  of  the 
coins  of  each  king,  form  the  sole  evidence 
which  the  ravages  of  time  have  spared  to 
tax  the  constructive  ' ingenuity  of  the 
modern  investigator.  Menander  (ap- 
parently the  Milinda  of  the  Buddhist 
records)  is  the  only  Bactrian  king 
after  Eukratides  of  whom  contemporary 
records  tell  us  anything.  He  probably 
reigned  at  Sagala,  possibly  the  modern 
Punjab  town  of  Sialkot,  from  about  i6o 
to  130  B.  C.,  and  seems  to  have  united 
the  entire  Greek  power  in  India  under 
himself.  He  succeeded  in  the  reconquest 
of  the  Indian  kingdom  of  Demetrios — the 
Northwest  Punjab,  Kabul  Valley  and 
Sind — and  may  have  carried  the  Greek 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

24 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

arms  in  raiding  expeditions  down  the 
Ganges  valley  to  Patna.  His  conversion  to 
Buddhism  is  a moot  question,  but  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  Buddhism  exercised 
a great  power  over  the  early  invaders  of 
India,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  case  of  the 
Kushan  emperor,  Kanishka.  The  death 
of  Menander  seems  to  have  been  followed 
by  a general  scramble  for  power.  About 
the  same  time  the  Hindu  princes  must 
have  driven  the  Greeks  back  from  Men- 
ander’s outlying  territories  in  the  Punjab 
plains.  A gradual  decline  ended  in 
the  downfall  of  the  last  Greek  king, 
Hermaios. 

The  coins  of  Apollodotos,  as  we  should 
expect  from  his  name,  are  largely  devoted 
to  the  cult  of  Apollo.  But  the  silver  is- 
sues usually  bear  the  image  of  Athene 
with  -Tlgis  and  thunderbolt.  She  was  one 
of  the  principal  Greek  deities,  personify- 
ing to  them  the  guiding  influence  of  life 
in  counsel,  industry  and  strategy  of  war. 
Her  poetical  name  was  Pallas.  As  the 
patron  goddess  of  Athens  she  was  re- 
garded as  representing  the  pre-eminence 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

i 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

25 

of  the  Greek  genius  in  art,  literature  and 
science.  Her  special  attribute  was  the 
aegis,  a goat  skin  plated  with  scales  in 
which  is  set  the  head  of  Medusa.  The 
companion  or  symbol  of  the  goddess  was 
the  owl. 

Gold  coins  of  the  Bactrian  Greeks  are 
extremely  scarce  and  of  the  Indo-Bac- 
trians  are  absolutely  unknown.  I have 
already  mentioned  the  unique  twenty- 
stater  piece  of  Eukratides.  The  only 
other  gold  coin  of  Eukratides  known  to 
me  is  the  stater  now  in  the  cabinet  of  Mr. 
E.  T.  Newell,  President  of  the  American 
Numismatic  Society.  Indo-Bactrian  sil- 
ver coins  are  found  in  the  tetradrachm 
and  drachm  sizes,  considerably  smaller 
than  the  corresponding  Bactrian  denomi- 
nations which  are  on  the  Attic  scale. 

As  a rule  the  tetradrachms  are  ex- 
tremely rare.  For  example,  when  I wrote 
my  Punjab  Museum  Catalogue  (1914)  I 
knew  of  only  one  Indian  tetradrachm  of 
lieliokles,  one  of  Strato  and  Agathokleis, 
three  of  Archebios,  one  of  Amyntas,  four 
of  Antialkidas.  They  are  comparatively 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

26 

P R E - M 0 H A M M E D A xN[ 

abundant  for  Menander,  ELippostratos 
and  Hermaios.  The  usual  size  is  the 
drachm.  Polyxenos  is  known  from  one 
silver  and  one  copper  coin  (both  in  the 
Punjab  Museum)  ; Telephos  from  three 
silver  and  half  a dozen  copper  coins ; 
Peukolaos  from  two  silver  and  three  or 
four  copper;  Theophilos  from  one  silver 
and  half  a score  copper;  Apollophanes 
from  a dozen  silver.  Several  other 
princes  are  almost  as  rare.  There  is  no 
reason  why  new  names  should  not  be 
found.  One  or  two  drachm  issues  are 
square,  but  the  tetradrachms  are  in- 
variably round.  The  copper  coins  are 
usually  square  or  rectangular.  Kingly 
titles  commonly  found  are  Soter,  pro- 
tector; Dikaios,  just;  Anikctos,  invin- 
cible ; Nikephoros,  victory-bearing.  As 
regards  the  Kharoshthi  language,  I may 
just  mention  that  Basileos  translates  into 
Maharajasa,  Dikaiou  into  Dhramikasa 
and  Nikephorou  into  Jayadharasa;  in 
these  three  words  the  familiar  Maharaja, 
Dharma  (right)  and  Jai  (victory)  are 
plainly  to  be  seen.  The  Greek  monogram 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

I 


COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

27 

may  denote  the  name  of  the  local  magis- 
trate under  whose  authority  the  coin  was 
struck,  or  sometimes  the  mint. 

We  know  that  Hermaios  was  the  last 
of  the  Indo-Bactrian  kings  because  there 
is  a class  of  coins  which  bears  two 
names,  that  of  Hermaios  in  the  Greek 
legend,  and  Kujula  Kadphises  in  the 
Kharoshthi.  This  inference  is  definitely 
proved  by  the  disappearance  of  the  name 
of  Hermaios  from  the  coinage,  its  place 
being  taken  by  that  of  the  Kushan  con- 
queror Kujula  Kadphises  in  the  Greek 
legend  without  alteration  in  the  type,  al- 
though modern  research  does  not  admit 
that  Kujula  Kadphises  was  necessarily 
the  immediate  barbarian  successor  of 
Hermaios.  Thus  ended  the  Greek  do- 
minion in  Bactria  and  India  after  a 
brilliant  career  of  at  least  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  from  the  establishment  of 
the  independent  kingdom  of  Bactria  by 
Diodotos  in  the  year  250  B.  C.  But 
though  the  political  power  of  the  Greeks 
had  disappeared,  yet  Greek  culture  and 
civilization  survived  for  another  century 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

28 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

or  so,  as  shown  by  the  coins  of  the  Indo- 
Scythian  sovereigns  Vonones,  Moas  and 
their  successors,  as  well  as  by  the  great 
Kushan  conqueror  Kujula  Kadphises  and 
his  dynasty. 

I should  like  to  interject  a few  general 
remarks  on  these  Greek  coins.  They  are 
beautiful,  interesting,  rare,  and  of  great 
value  to  the  historian.  They  possess  all 
the  qualities  necessary  to  attract  and 
stimulate  attention.  I suppose  I should 
never  have  become  a coin  collector  but 
for  the  fact  that  in  the  early  part  of  my 
service  in  the  Punjab  I saw  two  Indo- 
Bactrian  coins  which  had  been  found  in 
my  own  District.  It  is  possible  for  a col- 
lector fortunately  situated,  in  Peshawar 
for  instance,  to  acquire  a fair  number  of 
the  commoner  kinds  of  these  coins  from 
the  bazaars  alone.  But  the  modern  col- 
lector, however  well  placed,  will  not  make 
a good  collection  without  recourse  to  pro- 
fessional agents.  He  will  find  that  the 
Bactrian  series  has  been  very  extensively 
forged.  What  a pity  it  is  that  the  mod- 
ern collector  cannot  wander  about  Kabul 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

29 

and  the  Kabul  Valley  in  the  happy  way 
that  the  American  pioneer  Masson  did 
ninety  years  ago  ! Under  present  circum- 
stances, Afghanistan  is  quite  inaccessible 
for  the  European,  and  the  excavation  of 
Balkh  must  await  more  fortunate  times. 
A name  well  known  in  connection  with 
Bactrian  coins  is  that  of  Sir  Alexander 
Cunningham,  a former  Director-General 
of  Archseology  m India.  Sir  Alexander 
was  one  of  the  first  workers  in  this  field 
and  a keen  collector  for  nearly  half  a cen- 
tury. His  unrivalled  cabinet  is  in  the 
British  Museum. 

I must  now  ask  you  to  go  back  with  me 
to  the  time  of  the  last  Bactrian  king, 
Heliokles,  and  the  destruction  of  the 
Greek  power  in  Bactria  by  the  Saka 
Scythian  invasion.  The  term  Scythian 
was  applied  indiscriminately  to  the  no- 
madic peoples  of  Central  Asia.  It  is 
generally  accepted  that  the  hordes  which 
have  successively  appeared  as  conquerors, 
coming  from  the  Asian  steppes  to  the 
border  provinces  of  Persia  and  India 
during  the  first  century  B.  C.  and  the  five 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

30 

P R E - M 0 H A M M E D A N 

succeeding  centuries,  are  the  following 
in  the  order  of  their  arrival — the  Sakas, 
the  Kushans  or  Great  Yue-Chi  of  the 
Chinese  historians,  the  Lesser  Kushans 
or  Little  Yue-Chi,  and  the  Ephthalites  or 
White  Huns. 

The  ultimate  impelling  force  of  these 
successive  waves  of  invasion  from  Cen- 
tral Asia  seems  to  have  been  the  deteri- 
oration of  the  grazing  grounds.  The  fall 
of  the  Greek  princes  in  India  was  merely 
one  incident  in  the  history  of  that  well- 
nigh  irresistible  migration  of  entire  na- 
tions in  arms,  which,  after  harassing 
India,  overran  almost  the  whole  of 
Europe,  and  under  the  leadership  of  At- 
tila  the  Hun  all  but  overthrew  European 
civilization.  India  was  again  visited  by 
a similar  scourge  in  the  times  of  Chingiz 
Khan  and  of  Taimur;  and  the  Mughal 
invasion  of  Babur  was  followed  by  the 
establishment  of  the  Mongol  or  IMughal 
empire  of  Hindustan. 

According  to  Chinese  accounts  the 
Sakas  were  driven  out  of  the  countries 
north  of  the  Oxus  by  the  Yue-Chi.  Re- 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

31 

tiring  to  the  south  and  then  to  the  east, 
they  worked  round  over  a region  which 
roughly  corresponds  with  the  present 
provinces  of  Siestan,  Sind  and  the  Pun- 
jab. This,  of  course,  meant  the  immedi- 
ate overthrow  of  the  Greeks  in  Bactria 
and  the  eventual  destruction  of  the  Greek 
power  in  the  Punjab,  possibly  on  the 
death  of  Menander.  However,  the 
Greeks  must  have  continued  to  hold  the 
Kabul  Valley  till  the  time  of  Hermaios. 
It  is  recorded  that  the  Saka  tribes  who 
occupied  Sakastene  or  Seistan  afterwards 
separated  and  formed  several  distinct 
states  under  different  rulers.  This  seems 
to  be  borne  out  by  the  three  distinct 
dynasties  of  kings  whose  names  have 
been  preserved  on  their  coins.  That  pro- 
ceeding from  Vonones  and  his  lieuten- 
ants, Spalahores  and  Spalagadames,  held 
to  the  west  of  the  Indus ; a second  dynasty 
from  Maues  (or  Moas)  and  the  Azes,  on 
both  sides  of  that  river;  and  a third  in 
Sind  and  the  west  of  Central  India.  To 
this  last  the  great  satrap  Nahapana  be- 
longed. 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

32 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

There  is  no  direct  historical  evidence 
that  the  Sakas  ever  occupied  the  Punjab, 
but  the  three  monarchs  Moas,  Azes  and 
Azilises,  whose  coins  are  found  abun- 
dantly in  the  Northwest  Punjab  and 
Hazara,  are  accepted  as  Saka  Scythians. 
They  issued  an  extensive  silver  and 
copper  bilingual  coinage,  the  Greek 
legend  being  quite  legible.  Like  that  of 
the  Indo-Bactrian  princes,  this  coinage  is 
without  a single  specimen  in  gold,  with 
the  possible  exception  of  a tiny  gold  piece 
in  the  Lahore  Museum  bearing  the  unique 
name  Athama.  In  sharp  contrast  with 
the  Indo-Bactrian  coins  the  pieces  of  the 
Indo-Scythians  never  give  us  a portrait 
of  the  ruler.  The  coins  prove  that  Azes 
had  an  Indian  general,  Aspa  Varma,  son 
of  Indra  Varma,  who  also  served  under 
the  greatest  of  Azes’  successors,  Gon- 
dophares.  Sir  Alexander  Cunningham 
makes  Gondophares  the  founder  of  a 
separate  Saka  dynasty  in  succession  to 
that  of  Moas,  Azes  and  Azilises,  but  it 
is  more  natural  to  call  this  dynasty  Indo- 
Parthian,  as  the  portraits  and  the  names 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

I 


COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

33 

of  the  kings  are  Parthian.  Abdagases 
was  the  nephew  of  Gondophares,  and 
other  members  of  the  same  line  were 
Orthagnes,  Pakores  and  Sanabares. 

The  currency  of  Gondophares  is  found 
in  great  abundance  over  a wide  stretch  of 
country  from  Peshawar  to  Delhi.  His 
name  is  derived'  from  the  same  origin  as 
that  of  Gaspard,  one  of  the  three  Wise 
Men  from  the  East,  and  occurs  in  the 
Christian  tradition  concerning  the  later 
life  of  the  Apostle  Thomas.  The  apoc- 
ryphal Acts  of  Thomas  contain  certain 
statements  which  discoveries,  made  since 
the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  have  enabled  us  to  test  in  the 
light  of  actual  history.  The  narrative 
tells  us  that  Thomas,  much  against  his 
will  and  inclination,  had  to  undertake 
the  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the 
Indians,  and  that  he  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  an  envoy  of  Gondophares,  king 
of  the  Indians,  who  had  been  sent  to 
Syria  in  search  of  an  architect  able  to 
undertake  the  construction  of  a palace 
for  his  sovereign.  Thomas,  in  company 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

34 

P RE  - MOHAMMEDAN 

of  this  emissary,  left  by  sea  for  India, 
which  was  reached  after  a rapid  passage. 
Both  proceeded  to  the  Court,  where 
Thomas  made  many  converts,  including 
Gondophares  himself  and  his  brother 
Gad,  and  ultimately  died  a martyr’s  death. 
That  after  so  many  centuries  the  actual 
existence  of  this  king  should  have  been 
proved  by  the  discovery  of  his  coins  in 
India  is  most  remarkable.  The  first 
specimens  were  found  in  Afghanistan  by 
the  American  explorer  Masson  about  the 
year  1833. 

The  name  of  Gad,  Gada,  or  Guda.  the 
brother  of  Gondophares,  according  to 
Christian  tradition,  is  possibly  contained 
in  a hitherto  unelucidated  KharoshtlR 
legend  on  a rare  type  of  coins  of 
Orthagnes.  The  reign  of  Gondophares 
covers  the  middle  of  the  first  century 
after  Christ.  About  this  time  were  issued 
the  very  abundant  copper  coins  of  an 
anonymous  king  who  called  himself  the 
King  of  Kings,  the  Great  Saviour  {Sotcr 
Me  gas).  All  bear  a three-pronged  sym- 
bol, the  peculiar  device  of  this  ruler. 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

35 

The  invasion  of  the  chiefs,  convention- 
ally known  as  Indo-Scythian  and  Indo- 
Parthian,  preceded  that  of  the  Kushan 
leader,  Kujnla  Kadphises.  I have  al- 
ready stated  that  the  first  wave  of  in- 
vasion from  Central  Asia,  that  of  the 
Saka  Scythians,  extinguished  the  Greek 
power  in  Bactria,  and  later  on  in  the 
Punjab,  and  left  just  a remnant  of  Greek 
sovereignty  in  the  Kabul  Valley.  All 
alike  were  swept  away  by  the  onrush 
of  the  Kushans.  The  work  of  conquest 
was  continued  by  the  second  Kadphises, 
styled  Vima  Kadphises  on  his  coins,  who 
overran  the  whole  of  the  Punjab  and 
Northwestern  India.  The  dominions  of 
Greeks,  Indo-Scythians  and  Indo-Parthi- 
ans  were  extinguished,  and  Northern 
India  came  under  the  Kushan  sway. 

It  is  generally  held  that  the  successors 
of  Vima  Kadphises  were  Kanishka, 
Huvishka  and  Vasu  Deva.  An  inscrip- 
tion recently  discovered  at  Mathura, 
thirty  miles  north  of  Agra,  confirms  the 
existence  of  a king  Vasishka  between 
Kanishka  and  Huvishka,  but  his  coins 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

36 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

have  not  been  found,  or  possibly,  still 
await  identification.  Of  Kujula  Kadphises 
and  Vima  Kadphises  the  only  remains  are 
their  coins  and  the  brief  notices  of  the 
Chinese  annalists ; but  of  their  successors, 
Kanishka,  Huvishka  and  Afasu  Deva,  we 
possess  many  inscriptions,  several  of 
which  are  dated  in  an  era  which  has  been 
called  the  Vikrama  Era.  It  may  be  re- 
marked that  there  are  a dozen  different 
views  regarding  the  date  of  Kanishka  and 
the  origin  of  the  era.  Some  writers  hold 
that  Kanishka  began  to  reign  in  A.  D. 
78.  One  authority  places  his  initial  date 
about  A.  D.  123,  another  as  late  as 
A.  D.  278.  On  the  other  hand.  Dr.  Fleet 
held  that  the  Kanishka  group  preceded 
that  of  Kadphises.  The  period  covered 
by  the  reigns  of  the  three  monarchs,  Kan- 
ishka, Huvishka  and  Vasu  Deva  probably 
exceeded  a century  and  a half,  and  the 
Kushan  sway  at  its  zenith  must  have 
extended  from  Kabul  to  Bengal.  The 
Kushan  type  of  coin  was  perpetuated  in 
Kashmir  down  to  the  sixteenth  century 
of  our  era,  a duration  which  I think 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

37 

easily  surpasses  all  records  outside 
China;  and  Kushan  copper  coins  and  the 
derived  types  must  have  remained  in 
common  circulation  for  many  centuries 
after  the  death  of  Vasu  Deva. 

It  was  in  connection  with  the  Buddhist 
faith  that  the  memory  of  Kanishka  was 
preserved  by  tiadition,  and  the  figure  of 
Buddha  appears  on  one  gold  and  on  a few 
copper  coins.  The  wonderful  relic  casket 
unearthed  near  Peshawar  bears  an  effigy 
of  the  great  king  Kanishka,  and  the  Pun- 
jab Historical  Society  has  published  a 
photographic  reproduction  of  the  statue 
of  Kanishka  discovered  a few  years  ago 
near  Mathura.  The  coinage  of  the 
Kushans  is  very  extensive  in  gold  and 
copper,  but  only  a single  genuine  silver 
coin  is  known  and  that  was  from  a copper 
coin’s  die.  It  thus  provides  a striking 
contrast  with  the  currency  of  the  Indo- 
Bactrians,  which  is  entirely  lacking  in 
gold.  The  coins  of  Vima  Kadphises  are 
bilingual,  the  Greek  legend  being  quite 
legible  and  of  some  length.  After  his 
time  the  Kharoshthi  language  disappears 

1 

1 

: AND  AI  0 N O G R A P H S 

1 

1 

38 

PRE- MOHAMMEDAN 

once  and  for  all  from  the  coinage,  the 
only  possible  exception  to  this  statement 
being  a coin  sketched  in  1842  and  subse- 
quently lost.  It  was  published  by  Cun- 
ningham in  his  work  on  the  coins  of  the 
Great  Kushans. 

The  money  of  the  Kanishka  group 
bears  legends  on  both  sides  in  legible 
Greek  characters,  but  the  kingly  titles 
are  usually  Iranian.  The  Kushan  gold 
coin  is  based  on  the  Roman  aureus.  The 
entire  coinage  of  Vima  Kadphises  is 
dedicated  to  Shiv,  the  third  person  of  the 
Hindu  Trinity,  but  the  currency  of 
Kanishka  and  Huvishka  is  adorned  with 
the  images  and  names  of  an  extraordi- 
nary and  extensive  gallery  of  gods, 
goddesses  and  heroes  with  Greek,  Indian 
and  Iranian  names.  The  full  pantheon 
of  some  thirty  deities  is  found  on  the  gold 
issues  of  Kanishka  and  Huvishka.  Like 
the  Athenians  of  old,  these  Kushans  were 
anxious  to  offer  their  devotion  to  all 
possible  deities  though  they  did  not  go  sol 
far  as  to  dedicate  a coin  to  the  Unknown 
God.  The  gold  coins  of  Vasu  Deva  gen- 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

39 

erally  give  us  a representation  of  Shiv ; 
the  copper  issues  have  the  standing  king 
on  one  side,  while  on  the  other  there  is 
either  Shiv  and  his  bull,  Nandi,  or  a 
seated  goddess  called  Ardoksho.  Vasu 
Deva  was  succeeded  by  obscure  princes 
known  as  the  Lesser  Kushans,  but  after 
his  time  the  design  of  the  monetary  issues 
becomes  sadly  debased  and  the  inscrip- 
tions difficult  to  read. 

At  this  point  it  is  appropriate  to  give 
a short  account  of  the  earliest  indigenous 
coins  and  then  briefly  to  describe  the 
various  native  issues  down  to  the  Mo- 
hammedan invasion.  Reference  will  be 
restricted  to  the  coins  found  in  the  Pun- 
jab and  its  vicinity,  but  will  include  some 
allusion  to  the  Sassanian,  Indo-Sassanian 
and  White  Hun  pieces  which  are  often 
found  towards  the  North  West  frontier 
and  in  Kashmir. 

The  earliest  coinages  of  the  ancient 
world  appear  to  have  been  mostly  of  sil- 
ver and  electrum  (a  mixture  of  gold 
and  silver).  The  earliest  coins  of  Lydia 
were  made  about  700  B.  C.  by  impress- 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

40 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

ing  small  punches  or  stamps  on  thick 
globules  or  buttons  of  electrum.  In- 
dian silver  coins,  which  are  certainly  as 
old  as  the  most  ancient  silver  Greek 
issues,  are  the  punch-marked  flat  pieces 
of  indeterminate  shape,  but  generally 
approximating  to  rectangular,  adjusted 
to  a fixed  weight  standard  of  about  56 
grains.  They  are  common  all  over  India. 

The  mode  of  fabrication  is  evident  at 
once  from  an  inspection  of  the  coins. 
Silver  was  first  beaten  out  into  a sheet 
somewhat  thinner  than  a quarter-dollar. 
Strips  about  half  an  inch  in  width  were 
then  cut  off  and  each  strip  was  divided 
into  pieces  of  the  same  weight,  approxi- 
mately 56  grains,  and  a final  adjustment 
of  the  weight  was  made  by  cutting  small 
bits  off  one  or  more  corners  of  the 
heavier  blanks.  The  marks  of  the  chisel 
still  remain  on  the  edges  of  the  thicker 
pieces,  which  were  broken  off  when  the 
cut  did  not  go  clean  through  the  strip  of 
metal.  It  has  been  remarked  that  though 
the  coins  known  as  “punch-marked”  are 
rude,  ugly  and  without  legends,  and  as  a 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

41 

rule  not  assignable  to  any  particular 
kingdom  or  locality,  they  possess  very 
special  claims  on  the  interest  of  the  scien- 
tific numismatist  as  documents  in  the 
early  history  of  coinage.  They  also  ap- 
peal to  the  anthropologist  as  authorita- 
tive records  of  the  religious,  mythological 
and  astronomical  symbolism  current 
throughout  India  for  many  centuries. 

The  term  “punch-marked”  adopted  by 
general  consent  means  that  the  devices 
on  the  coins  are  impressed,  not  by  means 
of  a die  covering  the  entire  Han  but  by 
separate  punches  applied  irregularly  on 
the  surface.  They  often  interfere  with 
one  another  and  in  some  cases  are  so 
numerous  as  to  result  in  a confused 
jumble.  Each  of  these  marks  may  have 
been  the  special  sign  of  some  money- 
changer or  tester,  or  of  some  locality. 
But  this  conventional  explanation  is  not 
sufficient,  because  we  ought  to  find  more 
punch-marked  coins  in  the  earlier  stages 
of  their  manufacture — that  is  to  say,  ex- 
hibiting not  more  than  one,  two  or  three 
marks.  I have  scarcely  ever  seen  a coin 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

42 

P R E - M 0 H A M M E D A N 

which  was  not  approximately  covered 
with  marks.  It  seems  clear,  therefore, 
that  the  surface  must  have  been  fairly 
well  covered  before  a piece  was  released 
for  circulation,  and  as  a rule  the  marks 
are  all  different.  Little  difficulty  is  ex- 
perienced in  distinguishing  the  obverse 
from  the  reverse  because  the  former  con- 
tains several  marks,  while  the  latter  is 
sometimes  blank  and  is  rarely  distin- 
guished by  more  than  one  device.  More 
than  three  hundred  different  marks  have 
been  distinguished. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  how  old  these 
punch-marked  coins  may  be.  They  are 
alluded  to  in  the  Laws  of  Manu  and  even 
then  they  are  called  old.  The  Jataka 
stories  speak  of  these  coins  as  being- 
current  in  the  time  of  Buddha,  that  is, 
the  sixth  century  B.  C.  In  the  early 
Greek  money  we  have  the  youth  of 
coinage,  but  in  the  punch-marked  pieces 
of  India  we  see  money  in  the  very  in- 
fancy of  the  numismatic  art.  There  is  an 
allusion  to  Indian  money  in  the  record  of 
Alexander’s  invasion  of  the  Punjab. 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 


COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

43 

Quintus  Curtius,  describing  the  reception 
of  Alexander  by  Omphis,  king  of  Taxila, 
says  that  the  Indian  ruler  presented 
golden  crowns  to  Alexander  and  his 
friends  in  addition  to  eight  talents  of 
coined  silver.  As  gold  was  available,  it 
is  curious  that  the  punch-marked  coinage 
should  consist  only  of  silver  and  of  cop- 
per. I think  that  the  punch-marked 
series  of  the  size  and  weight  just  de- 
scribed was  intended  to  be  an  all  silver 
currency.  The  true  copper  punch-marked 
coins  are  thick,  massive  pieces,  which 
are  very  much  rarer  than  the  silver  coins. 

The  Indian  monetary  system  was  es- 
sentially original.  It  differed  from  the 
Greek  and  from  all  other  systems  in  its 
unit  of  weight  as  well  as  in  its  scheme  of 
values.  The  unit  of  weight  is  the  rati, 
the  scarlet  and  black  seed  of  the  Abrus 
precatorius,  the  Indian  liquorice,  some- 
times called  the  red-bead  vine;  and  these 
seeds  can  be  seen  in  use  at  the  present  day 
in  any  Indian  goldsmith’s  shop.  A single 
seed  weighs  something  over  grains 

and  the  whole  of  the  Indian  money  pro- 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

44 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

ceeds  by  multiples  of  this  well-known 
unit.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  In- 
dian monetary  system  is  the  invention  of 
the  Hindu  mind. 

In  addition  to  the  punch-marked  coins 
there  are  the  thick  copper  coins  of  Taxila 
with  an  elephant  on  one  side  and  a lion 
on  the  other,  which  were  the  prototype 
of  the  square  Indo-Bactrian  issues. 
These  are  true  coins  with  an  impression 
on  each  side.  We  also  have  massive  rec- 
tangular pieces  with  blank  reverses  which 
are  held  to  be  more  ancient  than  the  fore- 
going, and  go  back  to  at  least  350  B.  C. 
They  differ  from  the  Greek  money  in 
every  single  point,  being  square  in  form, 
different  in  standard  and  Indian  in  type. 
They  are  utterly  without  inscriptions  and 
must  be  regarded  as  a purely  indigenous 
currency.  It  is  a pity  that  we  cannot 
point  to  definite  coins  as  being  issues  of 
the  famous  Mauryan  king  Asoka,  but  the 
absence  of  legends  makes  the  attribution 
impossible.  The  earliest  gold  coins  of 
Northern  India  are  one  or  two  small 
pieces  which  were  probably  struck  at 

N U M I S ]\I  A T I C N 0 T E .S 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

45 

Taxila  and  bear  the  peculiar  symbol 
which  Sir  Alexander  Cunningham  called 
the  Taxila  mark.  The  site  of  Taxila  is 
twenty  miles  northwest  of  Rawalpindi 
in  the  Northwest  Punjab  and  is  being 
excavated  with  most  valuable  results  by 
Sir  John  Marshall,  Director-General  of 
x-\rch3eology  in  India. 

The  holy  city  of  Mathura  (Muttra) 
is  between  Delhi  and  Agra,  thirty  miles 
north  of  the  latter  city,  and  ancient  coins 
are  found  in  considerable  numbers  begin- 
ning with  the  drachms  of  Menander  and 
Apollodotos.  The  copper  coins  of  the 
Kushans  are  abundant  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  Mathura  belonged  to  their 
dominions ; Ptolemy  includes  Mathura 
in  the  lower  Punjab.  The  monetary  is- 
sues of  Mathura  include  coins  of  Indian 
rajahs  of  an  indigenous  type  which  are 
probably  earlier  than  the  coins  of  the 
Mathura  satraps  with  Persian  names. 
The  most  ancient  of  these  foreign  satraps 
seem  to  be  the  brothers  Hagana  and 
Hagamasha.  Hagamasha  was  probably 
followed  by  Raj  uvula,  whose  son  was 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

46 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

Saudasa.  Raj  uvula  struck  drachms  in 
base  silver  resembling  and  associated  with 
the  coins  of  the  Indo-Bactrian  prince 
Strato  II,  as  well  as  bronze  coins  after  the 
manner  of  the  rajahs.  Mr.  Vincent  Smith 
places  Raj  uvula  and  Saudasa  somewhere 
about  125-100  B.  C. 

The  Taxila  and  Mathura  coins  are 
local  issues.  Though  none  of  them  bears 
the  name  of  Taxila  or  of  Mathura  there 
can  be  no  hesitation  in  assigning  them  to 
those  places  because  they  are  not  found 
elsewhere.  Other  ancient  Indian  coins 
are  distinguished  by  the  names  of  the 
tribes  which  struck  them  and  so  may  be 
called  tribal  issues.  Well-known  tribal 
coins  of  the  Punjab  are  those  of  the 
Odumbaras,  Kunindas  and  Yaudheyas, 
who  struck  money  in  silver  and  copper, 
the  silver  coins  being  derived  from  the 
Indo-Bactrian  drachms.  The  Yaudheyas 
were  one  of  the  most  famous  tribes  of 
ancient  India  and  were  specially  noted 
as  warriors,  their  name  being  derived 
from,  the  Sanskrit  yiidha,  battle.  They 
are  mentioned  by  the  grammarian  Panini, 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

47 

who  lived  before  the  time  of  Alexander, 
as  one  of  the  warlike  peoples  of  the  Pun- 
jab, and  they  occupied  the  country  on 
both  banks  of  the  River  Sutlej. 

To  sum  up,  die-struck  coins  essentially 
original  in  form,  design  and  size,  existed 
in  India  before  the  invasion  of  Alexander 
the  Great  in  326  B.  C.  The  Greek  and 
Indian  types  of  money  mutually  in- 
fluenced one  another  as  shown  in  the 
adoption  by  the  Greeks  of  the  Indian 
square  shape  and  weight  standard,  and 
by  the  Indians  of  the  drachm  form  and 
Greek  artistic  designs. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
Kushan  empire  endured  till  the  third  cen- 
tury after  Christ,  but  the  history  of  that 
century  is  wrapped  in  obscurity.  We 
know,  however,  that  in  its  latter  part  a 
chieftain  named  Gupta  ruled  in  Bihar, 
his  capital  being  in  the  vicinity  of  Patna. 
In  the  year  320  the  throne  was  occupied 
by  his  grandson,  Chandragupta  I,  who 
must  be  regarded  as  the  real  founder  of 
the  fortunes  of  his  house.  This  chief  es- 
tablished a special  era,  known  in  after- 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

48 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

' 

times  as  the  Gupta  Era;  and  many  of  the 
inscriptions  and  coins  of  his  successors 
are  dated  in  this  era.  It  continued  in  use 
in  parts  of  northern  and  western  India 
as  late  as  the  thirteenth  century 
After  a brief  reign  Chandragupta  trans- 
mitted the  crown  to  his  son,  Samudra- 
gupta,  who  at  once  entered  on  a career 
of  aggressive  conquest.  After  reducing 
the  princes  of  Upper  India,  he  turned  his 
victorious  arms  against  his  southern 
neighbours,  and  celebrated  the  attainment 
of  paramount  power  by  the  performance 
of  the  asvamedha,  or  horse  sacrifice. 
After  a long  and  prosperous  reign,  dur- 
ing which  the  River  Narbada  became  the 
southern  frontier  of  the  Gupta  empire, 
Samudragupta  passed  away  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Chandragupta  II  about  the 
year  375.  Under  this  rule  the  Gupta 
empire  reached  the  zenith  of  its  power. 
He  attacked,  defeated  and  slew  the  satrap 
Rudrasimha,  ruler  of  Kathiawar,  and  so 
extinguished  the  foreign  Saka  Scythian 
dynasty  of  the  Western  Satraps,  which 
had  lasted  for  four  centuries.  The  Punjab 



NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

49 

did  not  form  an  integral  part  of  the 
Gupta  empire,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
Gupta  power  and  influence  extended  as 
far  as  Lahore.  Six  years  ago  a find  of 
Gupta  gold  coins  was  made  in  the  Hissar 
district  of  the  Punjab  province. 

The  Gupta  currency  is  essentially  a 
gold  issue  derived  through  the  gold  coin- 
age of  the  Kushans  from  the  Roman 
aureus.  Silver  and  copper  money  of  the 
Guptas  is  scarce  and  unknown  before 
Chandragupta  II.  On  the  annexation  of 
Gujarat  and  Kathiawar  he  recognized  the 
convenience  of  the  small  silver  currency 
of  the  Western  Satraps,  based  on  the 
Indo-Bactrian  drachmas,  and  imitated  it 
closely. 

About  413  A.  D.  the  empire  passed  into 
the  hands  of  Kumaragupta  I,  son  of 
Chandragupta  II.  This  monarch  during 
most  of  his  long  reign  enjoyed  undimin- 
ished power,  but  towards  its  close  he  was 
troubled  by  an  invasion  of  the  White 
Huns,  which  was  repelled  by  his  son 
Skandagupta.  The  latter,  who  acceded 
in  455,  reigned  till  about  480.  The  in- 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

50 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

cursions  of  nomad  tribes  from  beyond  the 
northwest  frontier  gradually  shattered 
his  power,  and  on  his  death  the  empire 
perished.  Remnants  of  the  dynasty  sur- 
vived in  the  eastern  provinces  for  several 
generations. 

I have  already  shown  that  the  Greek 
power  in  India  was  shattered  by  the  in- 
vasions of  Asiatic  hordes — Scythians, 
Parthians  and  Kushans.  The  Huns  ap- 
pear on  the  scene  in  the  fifth  century 
after  Christ.  These  barbaric  Huns  in 
their  migration  westwards  divided  into 
two  main  streams,  one  directed  towards 
the  valley  of  the  Oxus  and  the  other  to 
that  of  the  Volga;  the  former  were 
known  as  Ephthalites,  also  by  the  name 
of  White  Huns. 

The  tribe  of  Ephthalites  was  of  consid- 
erable importance  in  the  history  of  India 
and  Persia  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries 
of  our  era.  The  name  Ephthalite  is  an 
attempt  to  reproduce  the  original  name  of 
the  race,  which  v/as  also  called  White 
Hun,  because  its  members  were  of  a com- 
paratively fair  appearance.  In  India  they 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 


COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

51 

were  called  Hunas.  Our  earliest  infor- 
mation about  the  Ephthalites  comes  from 
the  Chinese  chronicles,  which  state  that 
they  were  originally  a tribe  of  the  Great 
Yue-chi,  that  is  to  say,  they  belonged  to 
the  same  stock  as  the  Kushans  and  lived 
to  the  north  of  the  Great  Wall.  About 
the  commencement  of  the  fifth  century 
after  Christ  they  began  to  move  west- 
wards and  for  the  next  century  and  a half 
they  were  a menace  to  Persia,  which 
they  continually  and  successfully  invaded 
though  they  never  held  it  as  a conquest. 
The  Ephthalites  defeated  and  killed  the 
Sassanian  king  Firoz  in  A.  D.  484,  and 
the  Persians  were  not  quit  of  the  White 
Huns  until  557,  when  Anurshirwan 
(Khusru  II)  destroyed  their  power  with 
the  help  of  the  Turks,  who  now  make 
their  first  appearance  in  western  Asia. 

The  Huns  who  invaded  India  appear  to 
have  belonged  to  the  same  race  as  those 
who  molested  Persia.  The  headquarters 
of  the  horde  were  at  Bamian  and  at 
Balkh,  the  ancient  capital  of  Bactria,  and 
from  these  points  they  raided  towards  the 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

52 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

south.  As  already  related,  Skandagupta 
repelled  an  invasion,  but  the  defeat  of  the 
Persians  in  484  stimulated  the  Huns, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  century  their 
chief,  Toramana,  penetrated  as  far  as 
Malwa  in  Central  India  and  held  it  for 
some  time.  His  son  Mihirgul,  or  Mihira- 
kula  (c.  510-540),  made  Sakala  (Sialkot) 
in  the  Punjab  his  Indian  capital,  but  the 
cruelty  of  his  rule  provoked  the  Indian 
princes  to  combine  and  attack  him  about 
the  year  528.  He  took  refuge  in  Kash- 
mir, where  after  a few  years  he  seized 
supreme  power  and  attacked  the  neigh- 
bouring kingdom  of  Gandhara,  perpetrat- 
ing terrible  massacres.  He  died  about 
540  and  shortly  afterwards  the  Ephthal- 
ites  collapsed  under  the  attacks  of  the 
Turks. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  Indian  Hunas  is 
chiefly  derived  from  coins,  from  a fev/ 
inscriptions,  and  from  the  accounts  of  the 
Chinese  pilgrim,  Hwen  Tsang,  who  vis- 
ited India  just  a century  after  the  death 
of  Mihirakula.  The  accounts  of  the 
Ephthalites  dwell  on  their  ferocity  and 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

1 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

53 

cruelty ; they  are  represented  as  delight- 
ing in  massacres  and  torture.  The  patron 
deity  of  Mihirakula,  as  clearly  shown  on 
his  coins,  was  Shiv  the  Destroyer,  and  he 
acquired  the  reputation  of  a ferocious 
persecutor  of  Buddhism.  Greek  writers 
give  a more  flattering  account  of  the 
Ephthalites,  and  these  opinions  were 
probably  the  basis  of  Gibbon’s  verdict 
when  he  described  the  White  Hun  as  “a 
polite  and  warlike  people  who  had  van- 
quished the  Persian  monarch  and  carried 
their  victorious  arms  along  the  banks,  and 
perhaps  to  the  mouth  of  the  Indus.” 
Nothing  whatever  is  known  of  their  lan- 
guage, but  it  is  held  to  have  been  allied 
to  Turkish.  The  White  Huns  were  more 
barbarous  than  the  Kushans  and  do  not 
seem  to  have  acted  as  other  than  a de- 
structive force. 

The  Ephthalites  were  content  to  re- 
strike or  imitate  »the  coins  of  the  coun- 
tries which  they  overran.  The  silver 
coins,  which  are  very  much  scarcer  than 
the  copper,  are  large  thin  pieces  of  the 
Sassanian  model  and  as  far  as  portraiture 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

54 

PRE-MOHAMMEDAN 

is  concerned  are  little  more  than  ex- 
amples of  calculated  frightfulness.  Many 
of  the  White  Hun  pieces  are  anonymous, 
but  are  usually  distinguished  by  a pe- 
culiar mark  which  Cunningham  called  the 
Ephthalite  symbol. 

After  the  extinction  of  the  White  Hun 
power  in  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century, 
it  seems  likely  that  the  Lesser  Kushans 
again  possessed  the  Punjab  for  about 
three  hundred  years,  as  we  find  more  and 
more  debased  types  of  coinage  which  are 
quite  illegible  but  are  still  to  be  recog- 
nised as  descended  from  those  of  the 
Great  Kushans  and  of  the  Sassanians.  I 
may  instance  the  ubiquitous  gadhiya 
paisa,  or  ass  money. 

In  the  ninth  century  we  again  get  coins 
bearing  distinct  names,  the  well-known 
“bull  and  horseman”  silver  currency  of 
the  dynasty  commonly  called  the  Hindu 
kings  of  Kabul.  The  coins  show  a con- 
chant  bull  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  a 
fully  caparisoned  warrior  mounted  on  his 
charger.  The  name  of  the  king  is  in 
Nagari  characters  over  the  bull.  Copper 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 


COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

55 

pieces  are  of  the  “elephant  and  lion”  type, 
both  animals  being  heraldic  in  design. 
The  coinage  of  Samanta  Deva  is  ex- 
tremely common  in  the  Punjab.  These 
types  continued  till  the  conquest  by  the 
Ghaznivis  early  in  the  eleventh  century 
and  the  “bull  and  horseman”  type  was 
perpetuated  by  these  Mohammedan  con- 
querors. 

The  Maharajahs  of  Kashmir  issued 
very  degraded  copies  in  copper  of  the 
Kushan  money,  which  occupy  the  period 
from  the  sixth  to  the  sixteenth  century — 
a wonderful  instance  of  persistence  of 
type. 

In  the  United  Provinces  and  Central 
India  we  have  debased  imitations  of  Sas- 
sanian  coins  without  legends  in  silver 
and  copper.  There  is  one  common  issue 
with  a representation  of  the  boar  incar- 
nation of  Vishnu  and  the  title  Srimad  Adi 
V araha,  which  we  know  was  borne  by 
Bhoja  Deva,  king  of  Kanauj,  in  850-900 
A.  D.  From  the  tenth  century  there  are 
the  abundant  mixed  metal  and  copper 
coins  of  the  “bull  and  horseman”  type  in- 

AND  MONOGRAPHS 

56 

COINAGE  OF  INDIA 

vented  by  the  Hindu  kings  of  Kabul 
which  were  struck  by  the  Rajputs  of 
Delhi,  Ajmer  and  Kanauj.  In  Western 
and  Southern  India  are  the  mediaeval 
coins  of  the  kingdoms  of  Vijayanagar 
and  Mysore. 

We  have  now  reached  the  commence- 
ment of  Mohammedan  rule  in  India  and 
with  it  the  end  of  that  obscure  period  in 
which  coins  have  actually  created  so 
much  history. 

1 

NUMISMATIC  NOTES 

INDIA 


Plate  I 


Euthydemos 


INDIA 


Plate  II 


Euthydemos  II 


1 


INDIA 


Plate  III 


Agathokles 


AR 


INDIA 


Plate  IV 


AR 


Eukratides 


INDIA 


Plate  V 


Eukratides 


INDIA 


Plate 


AR 


Heliokies 


INDIA 


Plate  VII 


Menander 


Apollodotos 


Apollodotos 


INDIA 


Plate  VIII 


INDIA 


Plate  IX 


Kadphises 


Kanishka 


Huvishka 


AE 


Vasu  Deva 


INDIA 


Plate  X 


Punched  Marked 


Taxila 


Amoghabuti  of  Kuninda 


AE 


Yaudheyas 


INDIA 


Plate  XI 


Chandragupta  II 


INDIA 


Plate  XII 


INDIA 


Plate  XIII 


White  Huns 


Gadhiya  Paisa 


- m ' 

7, 


r'- 


■* 


INDIA 


Plate  XIV 


Samanta  Deva  (Kabul) 


Samanta  Deva  (Kabul) 


Tetomana  (Kashmir) 


Srimad  Adi  Varaha 


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